变 (biàn) · to change, to become, to transform

Meanings

1 to change
2 to become
3 to transform

Characters

变

biàn

to change; to transform

Examples

HSK 1

天气变冷了。

Tiānqì biàn lěng le.

The weather has gotten cold.

HSK 1

他变了很多。

Tā biàn le hěnduō.

He has changed a lot.

HSK 4

一切都在变。

Yíqiè dōu zài biàn.

Everything is changing.

Tips

grammar

变 + adjective means 'to become (adjective)': 变大 (get bigger), 变好 (get better), 变冷 (get cold).

Components

radical

又 yòu

right hand

又 at the bottom - the indexing radical, two strokes for a right hand. Replaces traditional 攵 (strike) of 變. The hand image fits the meaning: change involves an act, a hand reshaping things. Same radical heads 友, 取, 受 and many action-oriented characters. 'Hand acting on something' is the cleanest way to read 变 today.

phonetic

亦 yì

also (here graphic only)

亦 on top - in modern simplified 变 it is a graphic placeholder substituting for the much busier 䜌 (two silk threads + 言) of traditional 變. Supplies the sound only loosely; the 1956 reformers picked the shape mainly for stroke economy, with sound as a secondary concern. Treat as a fixed top-piece rather than a transparent phonetic.